What's Left Of Me
by FullMoonEclipse
Summary: Basically Age of Extinction with a reworked plot. Might have Dinobots, I'm not sure as of yet. The character limit's too small for me to put a proper summary here, but there's no shipping in case you're wondering. This fic is being continued for NaNoWriMo 2015. Read and Review, please and thanks! Constructive criticism is welcomed and requested.
1. Chapter 1

Pain. Blinding pain. That's all Optimus Prime felt as his tired screeched and swerved on the asphalt. He could hear the roaring engines of his pursuers and the sound of their weapons discharging, the sound of their bullets ripping through his armour and all his onboard systems warning the Autobot leader of the damage and of the imminent stasis lock that he kept delaying out of the faintest glimmer of hope that he'd escape them. Swerving around a corner and narrowly avoiding a missile exploding just behind him (were they enjoying this?!), Optimus' mind began to race- he needed a way to escape, and quickly, but he was running out of options, not to mention time. Wait- there! Just a little further up the road, some human had left an abandoned truck that looked dilapidated enough to be seen as broken. It was a long shot, but Optimus was willing to take it. He scanned the vehicle as he drove past it, his entire being beginning to shift and change just as gunshots rang out behind him. Optimus had a good headstart, but the distance was closing quickly and he willed himself to move faster. He'd outrun seekers faster than them on Cybertron, and he wasn't about to let Starscream laugh at him from within the Well of Allsparks by letting them catch up now. Quickly rounding another corner then breaking off from the road, Optimus took to the forest, transformed, and took into a run. He couldn't see or hear his pursuers and was starting to think he had outrun them at last.

Then, suddenly, a shot rang out and pain exploded anew in the Prime's chest and he collapsed to the ground, gripping the wound in his shaking hand, but Optimus willed himself to keep going, to get up and keep moving- the others were depending on him, dammit! Narrowly escaping the next shot that came, Optimus transformed and sped off through the trees and back onto the nearest road he could find, then followed it into the night to wherever it would lead, not even knowing if he was still being pursued or not and still refusing stasis lock, as much as he felt he wanted it right now. His entire chassi was shot straight to the Pit, literally, his pedes couldn't even carry him anymore- it was starting to look like the best option at that moment in time. Willing himself just a little further, Optimus veered to the right and up a dirt road until he came to a human farm and hid in a tall, wide structure just as his systems flashed their final warning. In his weakened state, Optimus finally accepted stasis lock and let it take him over.

He wondered as he slowly began to shut down, were the other Autobots safe? What if they were being hunted, too? But Optimus could no longer think on these things, and with the heavy weight of sorrow and regret in his spark, Optimus Prime shut down and went silent.

-

Emma woke to the sound of a truck coming up their driveway and scrambled to her window to see what was happening, only to see the truck reverse into the barn and shut off. She checked the time- it was four in the morning, what was a truck doing on the property and why wasn't Jason out there investigating? Oh, wait, she told herself, Jason could sleep through an eathquake. With a sigh, Emma dragged herself out of bed, pulled on her favourite jacket and her sneakers, then hurried out to the barn with a flashlight in hand. She didn't need it half of the way, since the moon was enough light for her to see by, but the barn was pitch black inside, save for a skylight that let in the silvery glow in a shaft that briefly caught on the truck's grill and the huge hole in the middle of it. Emma turned on the flashlight and stepped over to the truck, her hand hovering not that far away from the grill. It was still hot, but cooling quickly for some strange reason. She moved around to the cab and opened the door to find shells from missiles and bullets inside. What happened, she wondered tiredly. She climbed into the cab and looked for anything that could indicate the truck had a driver, but she couldn't find any keys or even a license tucked away anywhere.

Then, Emma noticed the symbol on the steering wheel- she'd only seen it once before on the news- and the shock was enough to wake her up entirely. No wonder the truck didn't have a driver- it was an Autobot.

Emma remembered hearing that the Autobots had been responsible for the invasion that decimated Chicago. She and Jason lost their parents in Chicago, she remembered seeing the Autobots as they shot down the alien aircraft chasing them as they ran for their lives from the city, but she couldn't bring herself to blame the Autobots for any of it. It wasn't their fault- at least, that's what she and her brother believed. There were so few Pro-Autobot supporters that she knew of who thought the same- most had been shouted down and bullied by those who disagreed. Why was this one so badly damaged, though, she asked herself. Weren't the Autobots given sanctuary? With a sigh, she decided to let it go for the night. "We'll have a look at you in the morning," She said tiredly as she gently ran a hand over the symbol on the steering wheel. "You've been through a lot. Just take it easy." Even though no response came, Emma bade it goodnight, climbed out of the cab and went back inside the house to sleep.

Morning came with the usual duty of waking up her brother for work. Emma already had a glass of ice-cold water at the ready in case words didn't work.

"Jay, get up." No response. "Jay. Jason. JJ. Bro." She went through the whole list of nicknames she had for her brother, but still, no response came. Emma shrugged and pulled up his shirt, then dumped the glass of ice water all over his back and watched as Jason shrieked and squirmed before he looked up at his little sister with comtempt.

"Seriously?!"

"You missed your alarm again." Emma set down the glass. "Come on, get up. I wanna show you something."

Jason sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. "Now?" He groaned.

"Yes, now!" Said Emma, her voice rising with urgency. "Bring your toolbox, you're not gonna believe it!" With that, she raced out of the room to get dressed.

Jason just stared after her with a sigh. "I already don't believe it." He got up and made himself decent, then collected his toolbox and walked downstairs to find Emma pacing about impatiently in the living room.

"What took you so long?!" She snapped up at him. "Come on!" She raced out the door to the barn and Jason just rolled his eyes and followed. His sister had an unlikely knack for being eccentric and strange when she wanted to be, much like her weird friends from school- exactly why he never let her hang out with them or go to their bonfire parties or their ghost hunts. It was better that she stayed somewhere where he could keep an eye on her. San Antonio was quiet enough and far enough away from Chicago. As much as Jason would gladly take a bullet for his little sister, there were days like this when he half-considered how well she'd act as a meat shield, days when she'd drag him out of bed for no reason, which he was pretty sure was going to be today. Jason ran a hand through his auburn hair and pushed the barn door open to find his sister standing near a semi-trailer that hadn't been there the day before.

"Emma, what are you doing?" He asked.

Emma was practically bouncing on her toes with anxiety. "It's an Autobot," She exclaimed. "I saw him drive into the barn last night, Jay, he's really hurt, we have to help...!"

But Jason just set down his toolbox and shook his head. "Em, this can wait until I get back from work."

"No, it can't!"

"Yes, it can!" Snapped the elder of the two. "I'm not doing it, Emma. Not now."

"Please, just help me wake him up!"

"No."

"What if he's hurt, Jay?" Emma pleaded. "I'm sure Peter will understand!"

Jason just sighed. "Peter's a nice guy, Em, but he's not going to be okay with me continuously being late."

"You don't have work for ages, though!" Emma hurried over to her brother and grappled onto his arm. "PleasepleasepleasepleasePleeeeeaaaase?" She looked up at him with those big blue eyes for good measure, but Jason just took his arm out of his sister's grip and picked up his toolbox.

"No. And remember; Fenrir and his stupid little friends are NOT allowed on the property!" The elder of the two stuck a finger in his sister's face. "And don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"And what would qualify as 'stupid'?" Emma asked, crossing her arms.

"Emma Valerie Craven, do not play this game with me."

"What game?" Emma smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're just not being specific enough."

"If I was," Growled Jason, "You'd find a loophole and play fucking hula-hoop with it. Your lies don't work on me."

"If I recall correctly, I'm the one who sweet-talked the realtor into giving us this place." Emma crossed her arms and glared up at her brother. "I think I deserve a little bit of slack here."

And this was where Jason had finally had it. "I'm the main beneficiary in the will. I bought the place, I put you in school, I'm the one bringing home the money- you do what I say until you're eighteen. So cut the shit and don't give me any more of your fucking smart mouth." And with that, Jason stalked out of the old barn, leaving Emma alone.

The younger of the Craven siblings just huffed annoyedly. "He's such an asshole!" She kicked over an old milk-crate in her frustration and it went rattling a few feet away from her. She stormed back over to the Autobot, climbed into the cab and sat there for a while to sulk. "He's been like this ever since Chicago," She sighed sadly. "He thinks I'll disappear if I'm not somewhere where he knows I'm safe, but it's starting to get a bit suffocating, you know?" She draped her arms around the steering wheel and rested her head against it. "I want to hang out with my friends, go out and have fun, have an adventure, but Jason won't let me and he's got all the money. Sure his boss is nice and all, but I don't think even old Peter could get him to stop being so controlling." She talked to the dormant Autobot for a long time, even after her brother left. She felt happy having someone to talk to, even if it was probably a dead robot. "You know what?" She decided eventually. "I don't care what Jason thinks. I'm gonna turn you back on and we'll see if I can fix you by myself. I'll need some help, so just wait until I get back, okay?" No response came, but Emma jumped out of the cab and raced back inside to get her cellphone and shot a text to Fenrir. Fenrir was the Alpha of a local therian pack, and a good friend of Emma's. He and his pack were often seen as bad kids just because of how they dressed and acted, but they were nice to her and they were her friends and it wasn't like Emma could hang out with anyone else.

Within the next hour, Emma heard howling out in the field from where she stood in the barn, and she hurried outside to howl her response. A group of teenagers, dressed in punk-goth clothing and carrying toolboxes and car batteries, came over to her and greeted their friend with a hug. Fenrir was last and put his arm around Emma with a grin.

"So, what's the occasion?"

Emma returned the grin. "You guys remember how we ran that "Autobot-Friendly Zone" thing last year?

"The one we all got arrested for?" Asked one among them, a tall girl named Maya. "Man, your brother was so _pissed_."

"We're about to take it up a notch," Emma clapped her hands together. "There's something I need to do and I can't do it without you guys." She led her friends into the barn, telling them all to be careful.

Timaeus, another among the pack, gave Emma a questioning look. "Em, this is just a beat-up truck."

"Not just any truck!" Chirped Emma as she beckoned her friends to come closer and pointed out the symbol on the truck's grill. "It's an Autobot, and I think he's hurt."

"And Jason didn't help you?" Fenrir scoffed. "Typical."

"That explains why you need all these tools and stuff," Said Maya. "But how are we going to fix a Transformer? We don't know anything about them."

"No, but we can definitely try!" Emma just grinned at her and the rest of the pack. "But first, we must all swear to secrecy that no one will tell anyone else about this. Deal?"

They all agreed and took their oaths before getting to work, hooking up wires to the truck and connecting it to a couple of batteries. Emma and Fenrir went about carefully digging out bits of shrapnel and bullet shells and carefully putting them in a bucket nearby. After a bit of digging, Emma found what looked to be an unexploded missile that just grazed a softly-glowing orb of blue energy, almost like one of those plasma ball things that she supposed was the Autobot's power source, and she had Fenrir help her to very carefully extract it and take it outside. Emblazoned onto the casing of the shell were the initials 'M.E.C.H', and this rang all sorts of alarms for the two of them.

"So those cyber-terrorists are hunting the Autobots?" Fenrir wondered.

"If that's the case, why hasn't the government tried to help?" Emma added.

Fenrir just sighed as they carefully set down the missile. "We'll call the police to deal with that later."

"Yeah, I think so, too."

The two walked back inside just as the others had finally finished up and were ready to try and shock the Autobot back to life. On Emma's orders, Timaeus sent about a small amount of voltage through the wires, and the engine rumbled a few times, but faded out. "Again," Emma told him. "Up the voltage a little bit." Timaeus tried again and this time the engine roared once, but fell quiet again. One more time, Timaeus cranked up the voltage and added another battery to the circuit and flipped the switch. The engine roared, and metal began to shift and clank together as a mighty battle cry echoed through the barn and the ears of the children, who all ducked for cover as the Autobot transformed and stood. Fenrir quickly grabbed Emma and ducked behind a barrel, but the two of them ducked their heads out from behind their cover to watch.

"_I'LL KILL YOU!_" The Autobot bellowed, his voice panicked, but furious. He tried to reach for something mounted on his back and managed to pull out something that looked like a triple-barrelled shotgun before he collapsed to the ground and cried out in pain. His fall sent the hiding places of some of the children flying and they raced out to the next that they could find with the Autobot swinging around his shotgun at them as he stood and backed himself into a corner. "I'll kill you! _Stay back!_" He accidentally knocked over Fenrir and Emma's hiding spot and Emma tripped over and wound up under the barrels of the gun. "Easy, human," The Autobot rumbled, glaring down at the red-haired girl.

Emma rolled onto her back and cautiously got to her feet, holding up her hands. "Please, don't hurt us…you drove into my barn last night, you were really badly hurt and my friends and I were trying to fix you." The barrels, easily the size of the tires on old Peter's truck, were slowly lifted away from her and Emma could almost hear her heart racing in her ears. The Autobot backed himself further away from her, into the shadows where his glowing blue optics, filled with fear and pain, flicked over himself and the cowering teenagers.

"Weapons system…d-damaged…" He coughed a few times and leaned against a support beam, looking confused.

"It must have been that missile we took out of you," Emma told him. "You're wounded, but it's going to be okay now. No one's going to hurt you here. You're safe and we're going to help you. My name's Emma Craven." The other members of the pack gathered around her with Fenrir not that far behind her.

"Emma…" The Autobot seemed to be trying out her name in that tired voice of his as he cautiously stepped closer to the group. He leaned against another support beam and turned his optics on her, and Emma could see sadness in them- it made her heart ache. "I am in your debt. My name is Optimus Prime." Then, he seemed to remember something. "M-my Autobots…! They are in danger!" He took one step forward, but wound up dropping his shotgun and collapsed to the floor, almost at Emma's feet, and a chunk of his helm just fell off maybe two feet away from her as if it had only been kept attached with just tape. Optimus held his head in pain as some strange liquid began to bleed out of where the metal had fallen. "I need to go, I need to go now…!"

Emma's heart ached again and she took a step towards him. "How far do you think you're going to get?" She asked. "You're in no condition to go anywhere, not like this!" She stopped when she saw Optimus cower away from her, optics meeting her bright blue eyes for a moment. "Who did this to you?" She asked, her tone more gentle. "What happened?"

"An ambush," Replied Optimus. "A trap…set by humans." He coughed again, and it looked like it hurt for the poor guy to breathe. "I escaped…and took this form…"

"You were granted sanctuary, weren't you?" Maya piped up. "You're on our side, why would humans hurt you?"

"I do not know…" Optimus tried again to rise to his feet. "But they were not alone…" He grasped his side and tried to steady himself. He looked so tired. "My Autobots…can…repair me…"

"Do you really think you can reach them?" Emma took a small step forward and held out her hand. "I know we're just kids, but…we can try to fix you. I'm just asking you to trust us. I'll let you stay here as long as you need to until you're ready to leave, no one will make you stay. I promise."

Optimus looked over the group, then to Emma's outstretched hand. Hesitantly, he knelt and extended his index finger to gently touch it against the human girl's hand in a sort-of handshake, but suddenly, he collapsed to the floor again in a painful and undignified heap, warranting Emma to rush to his side and lay her hands against his arm, calling out his name as his optics began to flicker.

"I beg you," He croaked out weakly. "If the Autobots search for me here…grant them sanctuary."

"O-of course!" Emma cried. "Of course I will, Optimus, just…just try to hang on." She leaned her head against his arm with a sigh. "It's all going to be okay."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **Sorry this took a while! Writers' block and family stuff hit me hard. I promise the next chapter won't take a year to be uploaded since I've decided to do this for NaNoWriMo 2015. I just hope I can get this thing to 50k by the end of the month. If not, I won't be too bummed, I guess. Disappointed, maybe, but ultimately it's a fanfic and nothing completely original, so I'm not too fussed if I finish it or not- doesn't mean I won't try, though! _

_Thanks to **RatchetLover** for reviewing. I will be continuing this now that nervousness hasn't decided to get at me again, just so we're all aware. I will try to have chapters up as frequently as I can manage, maybe uploading on weekends if I can. We'll see._

* * *

><p>Pain still fluctuated through Optimus' field, but he could just barely feel the human child's hands against his servo even as his optics flickered and a part of the Prime felt thankful that he had found sanctuary- for now, at least. He fought to keep his optics online as his vocalizer reset itself and he could see the other human children gathered behind this human, Emma, who had started asking who among them could get some odds and ends that she thought they would require. The eagerness of these children was admirable, and most had already scurried off as fast as their struts could allow. Emma remained once all of them had gone, then turned back to look at him with that same worried expression she'd had before.<p>

"Look, I know you're probably in a lot of pain," She said carefully. "But I'm going to need you to sit up. Think you can handle that?" Exventing slowly, Optimus tried to do as the child asked and started pushing himself up into a sitting position, but his servo gave out and he fell to the ground hard, a sharp stabbing pain coursing through his field as he curled up on one side and clutched protectively at his exposed spark cradle. Even without a medic to say so, the Prime had been through enough instances where his cradle had been damaged to know when it was, and the feeling was far too familiar for his own liking. He hadn't heard Emma asking what was wrong until he saw her standing perhaps a bit too close for the comfort of his panicked processor and didn't even think twice before he cursed at her in Cybertronian and told her to stay back. Emma looked shocked, but not afraid, and stood her ground. "I know it hurts, but if you want me to help, you have to get up!"

"I can't," Optimus groaned.

"You don't have any other choice!" Emma shouted back. "Get up! Come on!" Seeing that he didn't really have any other way of convincing the human, Optimus planted both his servos firmly on the ground and tried again, this time just managing to push himself into a sitting position and exvented out of exhaustion. He looked down at Emma, who stared back with an expression of concern- it was starting to remind him of Ratchet, wherever he was now. "I'm sorry if I was being too harsh," Sighed Emma. "I hate yelling and you're probably not in the best of moods to be dealing with small, annoying things making loud noises at you at the moment, but I had to get you up somehow."

Optimus just nodded slowly. She was right, he was in no right way to be coping with anything too stressful; his frame felt heavy and he was just so tired. He still didn't completely trust this child, but what other choice did he have? "Why are you helping me?" He asked. "I threatened you and your friends…"

"You're hurt, and you were scared." Emma shrugged. "It's completely normal. As for the 'why'? It's because an Autobot saved my life when my brother and I were trying to get out of Chicago during the Decepticon invasion. You're not the same one- I know that for sure. His name was Ratchet, said he was a doctor."

"Ratchet is my chief medical officer," Optimus told her, though he had no idea if his friend was still alive or not. "I ordered my troops to evacuate any surviving humans left in the city."

"Yeah, and Ratchet helped me find my brother." Emma smiled, folding her hands behind her back. "He found me hiding behind a pile of rubble and helped me get to my brother, Jason. I never got the chance to thank him."

"What about your parents?"

Emma's smile dropped and Optimus wondered if that was the right question to ask. "They're dead. Jason was somewhere else in the city seeing a friend of his when the Decepticons attacked. Mom and Dad and I tried to run, but the building we were in collapsed and my parents were crushed by the debris. Mom made me leave her." She sighed. "I guess I got lucky that Ratchet found me when he did."

Optimus inclined his head respectfully. "My condolences."

Emma's smile returned and she shook her head. "It's okay. It's not your fault." She trotted over to a box nearby and pulled out a few tools from it. "Besides, you should be worrying about yourself right now, not silly old me! I mean, we _did_ pull a missile out of you. It almost hit your power source, but it looks like the thing holding it in place took most of the damage."

Optimus' spark pulsed nervously at those words. "The cradle is damaged," He told the human child, "But my spark is still intact."

Emma looked up at him with a screwdriver between her dentae, which was quite amusing, before she took it out of her mouth and set it down on a nearby table that hadn't been knocked over during Optimus' initial outburst. "I'm guessing that's a bad thing," She sighed as she walked over to him. "Can I take a look? I won't put my hands anywhere they shouldn't, promise." Although Optimus was still wary of this child, he lowered his servo and closed his digits around Emma so he could lift her up to his chest to inspect the gaping hole in the plating over his spark chamber, only for the girl to hiss through her dentae once she saw the damage. "Oh, that's definitely not good." She braced her hands against his chest to get a better look. "I think the frame is a bit dinged up, and there's some shrapnel that's sliced a few things in here, but they're healing a little, so I guess it's not that bad and it's happened before. I'll get Maya to clear that out, she has steadier hands. But you're right, your 'spark' looks fine to me."

She smiled up at him, and Optimus could only nod in a mix of relief and worry. "I would rather you not try to fix my spark cradle," He said slowly. "It is a delicate process, and I do not trust you enough to allow you to attempt it."

Emma nodded and held up her hands. "It's okay. The rest doesn't look like anything my friends and I can't fix. "Like I said, no hands where you don't want them." She patted Optimus' hand comfortingly, still smiling. "Your spark is really pretty, if you don't mind me saying. It's warm." Normally, this was something sparkmates would say to each other, but the compliment didn't really matter all that much to Optimus right now. "What's it supposed to do?"

"It contains our life force, and our memories," Optimus explained. "I believe you humans call it a 'heart', or a 'soul'."

Emma nodded understandingly. "Looks like there was supposed to be a covering…Timaeus can cook you up a new one real quick. He's learning how to be a blacksmith, so it should be a quick fix." Her smile was gone now. "Look, we think we know who attacked you. When we pulled that missile out, it had the word 'MECH' written on the casing. MECH is a cyber-terrorist organisation, so that's our first clue. The government's been trying to tackle them for ages now, but as far as anyone knows, they use guerrilla tactics, hiding among militaries and citizens."

"Cowards," Growled Optimus.

"Exactly. But _you're_ living proof of why Autobots have been going missing." Emma crossed her arms.

That caught the Prime's attention. "Missing?"

Emma was about to explain when some of the other human children returned with tools and supplies, and they started to get to work, leaving Optimus to his thoughts as to what the girl's explanation meant. No, surely they weren't just 'missing'. After they'd found Sideswipe, it was clear they were being hunted. What friends did the Autobots have on Earth that would bother to help them while not bending to the will of the people? For all he knew, Optimus could be the last living Autobot on Earth, with no way to return to the cosmos in even the vaguest of hopes of finding the comrades who did not follow him along with Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz and Bumblebee in pursuit of the Decepticons who were searching for the Allspark. However, the thought of his living comrades being just 'missing' gave the Prime that most cruel of illusions- hope.

* * *

><p>It had been a very long night. An Autobot distress signal had gone out, but by the time they had arrived, the Autobot was almost dead. The 'bots that had already been rescued had kicked up an argument among themselves over finding yet another one of their friends nearly reduced to scrap, and First Aid, the only medic they had, was already looking the poor soul over and doing all he could. Special Agent William Fowler had just gotten off the phone with his superiors that morning, and was still scratching his head over the disappearances and the dud signals when they'd arrived the many times too late to save anyone. He took a tired glance over at the chart of the missing faces they were looking for, the ones they'd lost and the ones they'd already found; Sideswipe, deceased. Ironhide, killed in the Chicago incident. Ratchet, MIA. Perceptor, deceased. Leadfoot, deceased. Arcee, missing, presumed dead. Bumblebee, found. Crosshairs, found. Hound, rescued. Drift, rescued. So many more faces to find, so many possibly beyond rescue. The one the Autobots worried most for was their leader, Optimus Prime- the last anyone had heard from him was a final transmission sent out before he went dark on the radar to warn them all about humans hunting Cybertronians, regardless of faction. It was the first they had heard of him in a long time, and it served as a clue about why MECH weaponry had been found in various sites where attacks had taken place.<p>

With a sigh, Agent Fowler was about to reach under his desk for the bottle of Jack Daniels when a sudden uproar came from the Autobots outside his office. He stormed out, hoping it wasn't another argument or brawl. "What in the hell is all this racket about?!"

"It's Optimus," Said Crosshairs. "The old tanker's still alive!"

True to the Wrecker's word, the screen nearby had lit up with another Autobot life signal- from San Antonio, Texas, of all places!- and Fowler could only hope they could find the Prime before MECH did.

* * *

><p>As soon as everyone was back, it was all hands on deck. With Emma's gentle encouragement, Optimus allowed her friend Maya to clear out the shrapnel around his spark cradle before they replaced the covering that had been blown off when he'd been shot at, though the Prime wasn't all that keen on letting them anywhere behind his back. Emma stayed the closest, making sure he was alright and doing whatever she could to help with repairs. However, work came to a grinding halt when Maya poked her head out of the barn and pulled it back in looking like a deer in the headlights.<p>

"Uh, Emma?" She called. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"Jason's here."

Silence swept over the barn, and Emma gulped hard. She was afraid that her brother would come back during the day. He never trusted her enough to be at home alone and often came home during the day. With a sigh, Emma clambered down to the floor of the barn and hurried out. Indeed, Jason was there, but he wasn't alone. With him was Old Peter, a friendly old man and a former marine who had taken to running a garage, but despite even _his_ best efforts, he wouldn't be able to change Jason's mind. They seemed to be having an argument, and Emma took their distraction as a chance to slip back inside the barn to tell everyone to leave quickly before she turned to Optimus.

"Just try to stay quiet," She told him. "I don't know what Jason will do if he finds out you're here." Optimus nodded slowly, and Emma rushed out to the yard, making sure the door was closed behind her. Jason noticed her coming up the path, and judging by the scowl on his face, he was not happy. "You're home early." Emma tried to keep it casual, but Jason grabbed her roughly by the front of her shirt with a scowl.

"Where's the Autobot?" He snapped.

"Still in the barn, what's it to you?!" Emma shouted back at him.

Old Peter quickly made Jason let go of Emma, who was less than happy about the stain on her shirt from her brother's dirtied hands, and spoke in a voice that was calm, but firm. "There's some scary-looking men in town who are looking for an Autobot. Jason told me you had one here."

"What are you going to do to him?" Emma asked, balling her fists.

"Hand him over," Jason replied, "What else?"

Emma didn't like the sound of that- if these men were who she she thought they were, there was no way that she was going to let them get their hands on Optimus. "You can't-!"

Again, Peter took charge of the situation. "We're not handing him over." By the way he said it, it seemed there was no room to argue. The man was getting on in years, but he was by no means unable to hold his own. "We just need to move him."

Emma began worrying her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I don't know if we _can,_" She said slowly. "Optimus has taken a lot of damage. We were fixing him up, but I'm not sure if-"

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Snapped Jason. "I thought I told you not to let those freaks on the property!" Again, Old Peter had to hold Jason back while Emma continued explaining.

"They know more about fixing stuff than I do, and you weren't gonna do it any time soon." The redhead sighed. "Look, I'll introduce you to him- follow me." The two men followed behind Emma, making sure they weren't followed. Emma made them wait while she went inside to tell Optimus, who looked to her almost expectantly- he must have heard their argument outside. "Jason and Old Peter are here- don't worry, no one's gonna send you away or hand you over to anyone." Optimus seemed to bristle at that and looked away for a moment as if weighing his options. "I promise they won't hurt you, but you can hurt Jason if you want. Not Old Peter though, he's like the only nice adult for miles 'round here."

It took Optimus a few moments, but he nodded slowly. He still looked apprehensive about the whole thing, considering Emma and her friends had only had so much time to fix him up and he was still injured. Emma could only hope there wouldn't be too much trouble as she ushered in her brother and his boss and trotted over to Optimus' side. Jason's eyes were on the damage first, but it was Peter who spoke before him.

"Goodness," He breathed, a smile crossing his lips. "I never thought I'd see the day." He approached carefully, still keeping that friendly smile, but Jason hung back, crossing his arms. He still wasn't happy.

Emma placed a hand on Optimus' leg and smiled up at him encouragingly. Getting the message, Optimus exvented and decided it was best to introduce himself. "My name is Optimus Prime. Emma and her friends have been trying to fix me."

"I can see that," Said Jason, eyeing a few pieces of equipment that were left out.

"Gotta love the drive in the kids 'round here," Chuckled Peter. "Well, Optimus Prime, my name's Peter, and the other one there is one of my mechanics, Jason."

Jason offered a curt nod. Emma just rolled her eyes. "You could say 'hi'- you know, like a normal human being?"

"Bite me, brat," Snapped the elder of the two. "Like I'm going to act nice in front of a trespasser."

"It was not my intention to do so." Optimus' tone was defensive, but still tired- he was definitely in no state to be dealing with someone like Jason.

Emma just sighed and leaned against Optimus' leg. "Don't listen to him, he's always like this."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Both of you, stop it." Peter's smile was gone, that firm tone returning to his voice. "I think we all need an explanation."

Optimus nodded. "I should think I owe that much, considering the situation." The Prime idly picked a shotgun shell out of his plating and flicked it away to some corner of the barn. "I know not why MECH is hunting us, but it began about one Earth year ago. We should have known something was wrong when we found Sideswipe's remains, but your governments would not listen, and cast us aside as soon as they could manage. NEST was disbanded, leaving us without any allies on Earth, and so we were left to fend for ourselves."

Optimus went on to explain to the three of them that it was only after he'd heard no further communication from a handful of Autobots for a lengthened period of time that he decided to investigate, but he found only remnants of the ones who had gone dark on the radar. However, his suspicions were confirmed when he was contacted by Perceptor and told that he was being hunted and needed backup, but then his communicator cut out. The Prime then decided to send out a message to the other remaining Autobots to stay away from humans and to avoid detection lest they suffer the same fate.

"MECH must have tracked the radio signal," Said Emma. "Maybe that's how they ended up chasing you here."

"It seems they have not given up their pursuit," Optimus concluded gravely. "I fear we are all targets now."

Jason scowled. "All the more reason for you to leave before you get us all killed."

"But nobody's blabbed to the scary guys in town, right?" Emma looked to Jason. "Optimus came here in the middle of the night, I doubt anyone would have seen him."

"Yeah, but they would have seen Fenrir and his gaggle of freaks heading here," Rebutted the elder of the two. "Someone's bound to squeal."

"I'll head back, see if those people are still in town." Old Peter gave a respectful nod to Optimus, then looked to the kids. "I'm gonna put in a call to an old friend, he'll know how to protect you two. And no more arguing!"

Emma nodded, and Jason followed Peter out of the barn, leaving the redhead and the Autobot alone. "Forgive me, Emma," Optimus sighed. "It was not my intention to endanger you or your loved ones."

Emma looked to Optimus and shook her head, smiling. "Don't be. Like I said before- you were hurt, you were scared, and you're worried about your friends." Emma put her hand on Optimus' leg again. "Old Peter will know what to do. He always does." She shrugged. "Most of the time."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **Well, good to see people are still interested in reading this- I see you, people fav'ing and following this story, y'all are wonderful people. Holy dicks this thing was a bitch to get done in time to meet my required wordcount for the day, but hey, we're at like 10 words and counting now, I think. Eh, maybe somewhere near it. who knows. I'll check later, I guess._

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><p>Peter and Jason came back from town with news that the scary-looking men were gone and no one had seen Optimus on his way into town the night before. The plan, at least for now, was to keep an eye out and be wary of anyone coming onto the property who wasn't anyone they already knew. Optimus doubted that his leaving would lure MECH away from the Craven siblings, so he had already made the decision to stay, at least for now.<p>

After a dinner spent in silence with her brother, Emma stayed out in the barn for a time to check on Optimus. She sat with him in her pyjamas, the two sitting in companiable silence while Emma read from a book she'd brought with her. Eventually, it was she who broke the quiet. "Optimus? Do you have a favourite book?" She asked, smiling. "We might have it if you want something to read."

Optimus blinked at her. "That is…kind of you, Emma. But no, I will be fine."

"You're sure?" Emma put her bookmark in between the pages she was up to and closed her book. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable while I'm asleep."

The Prime looked away in thoughtful silence for a moment before he looked to Emma again. "Do you have 'The Little Engine That Could'?" He asked, his tone almost sheepish. "It is…one of my favourite Earth tales."

Emma looked at him in disbelief for a moment before giving a grin. "Mine too! I think I still have it in my room, let me go check." She scurried off back to the house, and returned later with a book that looked well-loved with a characteristic gold-leaf-covered spine, along with a few others. "Found it!" She cheered as she held it up. "I've had it with me a while, so you'll have to excuse the scorchmarks and dirt stains." She climbed back up onto Optimus' hand when it was offered, and Emma could have sworn he was smiling- it warmed her heart to think that maybe the Autobot could still smile after what he had been though. "I can see why you like this story. It's one of my favourites, too. If it makes you feel a little more comfortable to sleep, I could read it to you." She blushed a little. "Bedtime stories always make me feel a little better." Optimus nodded in agreement, and Emma opened up the old book carefully and started to read.

"_Once there was a heavy train that needed to be pulled over a steep hill. Down at the station yard, the station master was looking for an engine to pull it over the hill, and first went to a strong train engine who usually pulled shipping containers, and asked if it would do the job…"_

Eventually, Emma was starting to get tired, and was falling asleep near the end of the story and had to stop reading. "Sorry, Optimus, I can't keep my eyes open." She gave a huge yawn. "I should really be getting to bed…I think there's a sleeping bag in here I can use, just in case anything happens during the night- Jay could sleep through the end of the world, so he wouldn't hear anything- and I'm still worried about your condition…"

The Prime held up a servo to silence her. "Emma Craven, you have done enough for one day, and that is more than what I could ask for." He offered one of his digits, which Emma placed a hand on before staring up with sleepy eyes. "I will be fine. Ratchet would be proud to see the work you and your friends have done here. My nanomachines will take care of the rest."

"Nano-what?" Asked the redhead, but she soon put two and two together and nodded. "Oh, like blood cells. I get it. That's cool. Well, if you're so sure, I'm gonna go back inside." Optimus helped her back down to the floor, and just before he could pull his digit away, Emma wrapped her arms around it and gave it a firm hug. "Goodnight, Optimus."

Optimus was hesitant in responding, nudging Emma gently with the digit she was holding onto. "…Goodnight, Emma."

Emma was woken later by bright headlights and the sound of men shouting outside. Before she could register what was going on, she was being pulled out of her bed by a rough hand. She screamed and kicked as she was dragged outside and pushed down on her knees, another body hit the ground not long after. She looked over and saw Jason spitting curses that would give a nun a heart attack, but he was soon silenced when his captor, a masked man wearing goggles, put the barrel of his assault rifle to the back of his head.

A man walked towards them, rough-set in his features, stocky and intimidating, white-haired, dressed in leather and flanked by two other masked men. Emma was dragged to her feet to look this man in the eye. "Good evening. Miss Craven, is it?" He asked. "Or do you perhaps prefer just 'Emma'?" Emma wasn't going to bother to give this man a response, and stayed quiet. "No need to give us the silent treatment, ma'am. We're here to just ask a few questions."

"What kind of questions?" Emma asked carefully. Part of her thought she could potentially lie to get this man to leave their home- she could already guess what it was they were here for.

The man gave a slight smirk. "I like you, Miss Craven- you like to get to the point. I can respect that." He folded his hands behind his back. "We are MECH. It's our understanding that there has been alien activity, and you and your brother might be involved."

_Okay,_ thought Emma. _Time to set the bait._ "Aliens?" She asked innocently. "Like the Autobots?" She made a face like she was thinking, furrowing her brow and pursing her lips for effect. "No, can't say we've seen any. Jay? Did you see anything?"

She looked to Jason, praying he would play along. Thankfully, Jason noticed that she was playing her little game and chose to play along. "No," He said, trying to act amused despite his temper flaring up. "Come on, man. Nothing happens in San Antonio. It's like the most boring place in Texas."

The silver-haired man's eyes swept across the property. "Pretty big place. Not bad for a mechanic's salary." His eyes soon returned to Emma. "I can see we've woken you both at an unreasonable hour- and I'm sure you'd like to get back to your summer vacation, miss- so we'll make this quick. Where is Optimus Prime?"

Emma tried to keep playing her little game. She needed this guy to believe Optimus wasn't here so they would leave and she could hopefully put the call in to the feds to get some of them arrested in the best case scenario. "Never heard of anyone by that name," She replied, trying to keep her innocent act up, but it looked like the man wasn't taking the bait. He nodded to her captor, who threw her back on her knees in the dirt.

"Look, little girl. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He knelt and grabbed a handful of her hair. "So if you don't tell me the truth, neither of you will live to see sunrise. Do I make myself clear?"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER, YOU SON OF A…!" Jason's outburst was cut off by a warning shot in the ground not far from his ear.

Emma screamed for her brother, but the white-haired man plunged his fist into her stomach, and she cried out breathlessly before breaking into a coughing fit. "It would be in your best interests to talk. I don't like using the kid gloves on brats like you."

"I'm telling you," Emma managed through her coughing. "W-we haven't seen anything, I don't know what you're talking about!"

The white-haired man slammed her face into the dirt once, then twice, then left her there for a moment to spit up gravel and blood before stomping on her back. Emma shrieked in pain. "I don't have time for your games, little girl," He growled, pulling her back on her knees again by the back of her pyjama shirt. "I'm not a man to be trifled with. The sooner you tell me where the Autobot is, the sooner this stops."

"How?" Emma wheezed. "With me and Jay dead? You guys are terrorists! As if you'd let us live!" That got her rewarded with a kick to the ribs, and she shrieked, mainly out of fear that it was broken. She could hear Jason cursing and spitting livid not far from her, but he was soon silenced when one of the masked men whacked him over the back of the head with the butt of his rifle, and Jason fell unconscious into the dirt. She couldn't play any games with these guys, and there was no way they were going to believe her.

Before the white-haired man could speak again, another masked man carrying a gun walked over to him. "Sir, we found an unexploded missile out in the field- it's one of ours."

"So, you were lying." The white haired man nodded to the other masked man holding Jason captive, who brought out a gun and put it against the mechanic's head. Emma cried out for her brother and tried to get up, but the white-haired man shoved his boot into her back again, pinning her to the dirt as he knelt down to speak to her. "I hate liars, Miss Craven. Now, you have ten seconds to tell me where Optimus Prime is, or your brother's blood is going to be on your hands. And not just him- we know the names and addresses of _everyone_ you love. The police records of your arrest a year ago were very informative."

Emma's heart was pounding in her chest. "Don't hurt him, please! He's all I have!" Normally she wouldn't beg like this, but the thought of losing Jason brought the memory of her parents' deaths to the surface of her mind, and she didn't want to be alone again- it had taken years for the two to be reunited after the Chicago incident. "If you want the Autobot, he's already gone, he left last night, I didn't see which way he went!"

The white-haired man wasn't buying it. "Five seconds. Use them wisely."

"Please, I'm telling you the truth!" Tears bubbled up in Emma's eyes. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't listen, but fear told her that he wasn't going to take her word for it. "Please, don't shoot my brother, _please!_" By now she was sobbing brokenly, looking to her brother with desperate eyes. "JAY! JAY, WAKE UP!"

The white-haired man scoffed. "What a waste. Shoot him."

"_NO!"_

Before Jason's captor could pull the trigger, the front of the barn exploded, and among the debris was Optimus Prime, both guns drawn and firing. "HERE I AM!" He roared. An explosion blew the white-haired man off of Emma and knocked a handgun loose from his belt. Dazed, Emma made a blind grab for the gun before pulling herself to her feet in time to see her brother being dragged off into a black car. She was about to chase after him when Optimus suddenly snatched her up and transformed before driving off in his vehicle mode.

Emma's heart was pounding in her ears as she hurriedly buckled herself in. "Optimus, they've got Jason!" She looked back out the window and saw the MECH cars following behind them, a few of their windows opening for the masked men inside to lean out and open fire. Emma pulled her head back in quickly, unharmed save for a bullet grazing her already scraped-up cheek. The cab lurched as Optimus sped up, leading the MECH cars onto the road, and San Antonio was quickly in the rear-view mirror as they made it out onto the highway.

They were followed down the highway, the road barely occupied by anyone, and Emma tried to keep her head down to protect herself from gunfire, occasionally poking her head up to try and find them a way off the road and away from MECH, but her thoughts continuously returned to Jason. Was he okay? Was he still alive? Would he still _be_ alive after this was over? She had no way of telling which of those cars had Jason in them, and he was more than likely being heavily guarded. Optimus stayed quiet during the drive, more than likely trying to concentrate, and Emma could only hope he was listening. There was a sudden explosion that rocked the cab as Optimus tried to swerve around a rocket that was launched at them, but it drove them off the road and off the side of the bridge. Optimus was forced to transform back into his robot mode to shield Emma from the impact and hit the ground running again before transforming back into his vehicle mode and speeding off towards an old factory up ahead. Emma dared another look out the rear-view mirror to see the MECH cars were far behind them. "We might be able to lose them!" She exclaimed. "Speed up, we can hide before they get there!"

There was the sound of a gearbox grinding, and the stick shift looked like it was having trouble moving. "We'll have to hope we can maintain our advantage," Said Optimus, his tone somewhat annoyed. "They did not come alone."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Emma asked, but her answer came sooner than she'd like when a shot rang out and something hit the dirt and exploded not far from them- a warning shot. Another hit the ground, then another, and Emma didn't dare to stick her head out of the window in fear she'd get her head blown off. The gearbox began to grind again, but this time the stick shift moved and Optimus increased his speed. There was next to no visibility as the big rig crashed through the fence and into the factory through an open garage door, and Optimus had to drive with his headlights off so they wouldn't be seen. They sat there in the pitch-black silence for some time, and Emma was shaking in fear. They could hear the MECH soldiers outside, and their leader barking orders- then, suddenly, there was the familiar voice of Jason spitting curses at his captors, and Emma was only partially relieved. At least her brother was still alive, for now. "Optimus…they've still got Jason..." She swallowed nervously. "What are we gonna do?"

However, a sudden explosion rattled the factory from outside, and there was the sound of gunfire not long afterwards. One of the MECH cars came crashing through a nearby wall, no more than a flaming wreck. Optimus dared to transform, keeping Emma on his shoulder, and the two looked through the hole in the wall, and what they saw certainly lifted their spirits- there were several Autobots who had opened fire on the MECH soldiers, and Emma was happy to see one snatching up her brother and handing him over to some men in a US Air force helicopter which soon flew off, but to where exactly she didn't know. Optimus set Emma down for a moment to arm himself. "Stay here, Emma Craven," He told her, his voice firm. "I will retrieve you when we have dealt with MECH."

Emma nodded. "Be careful."

Optimus stormed out into the fray, firing off whatever shots he had left. The human 'terrorists', as Emma had referred to them, were already starting to turn tail and run, but the Prime was not yet sure if it was in acceptance of their lost battle, or part of a tactic. Humans alone could not kill a Cybertronian, only detain them as Sector Seven once had managed to do with Bumblebee some years ago, so it was more than likely that they had help, but from who? That was the question that disturbed him most. However, just when the Prime thought he saw something in the distance, he was knocked down by one of the Autobots who had come to assist him, who he recognised as Hound, just as an energy bolt shot right over their helms and crashed into the old factory behind them. Fear shot through his spark and he was about to call Emma's name, when he saw the red-haired human come limping out of the ruins, coughing through the cloud of dust, and felt relieved, but he managed to catch a glimpse of something out in the dark of the night that looked vaguely Cybertronian before disappearing completely. So MECH had not come alone, after all.

Hound let Optimus stand. "That was a close one," The wrecker grumbled. "Y' nearly had yer head taken off."

Optimus looked around at the other three Autobots- Crosshairs, Drift and Bumblebee- and, to use the human term for it, a stone sank in his gut. "Is this everyone…?" He asked gravely.

"Not everyone," Said Crosshairs. "First Aid's back at base lookin' over Blurr as we speak. The kid was hardly alive when we scraped his sorry aft off the road." Bumblebee beeped musically and pointed to Emma, who had walked over to the group and had come to lean against one of Optimus' struts. "Great," Sighed Crosshairs. "Another one."

"We got your warning," Said Drift, who bowed respectfully. "We feared you had gone offline for good."

"Do we have to take the human with us?" Asked Hound.

"Considering that Emma and her brother have risked their lives for mine," Optimus replied. "It would be too risky not to."

"MECH knows everything about me and Jay," Emma piped up. "They probably know stuff about our friends, too. It's too dangerous to go back."

"So we're playing witness protection. _Greeeaaaat._" Crosshairs holstered his guns and put a couple of digits to his audial. "Fowler, we've got Optimus. MECH decided to turn tail. Give us a bridge."

Much to Optimus' surprise, a ground bridge opened up not far from them. The groundbridge was Ratchet's invention and had only ever been used by NEST in some few instances. Just how was one still operational? Choosing to set the question aside for now, Optimus scooped up Emma in one of his servos and carried her through the groundbridge with the other Autobots, and found themselves in what looked like a small-scale base, met by only a small group of soldiers and a man wearing a suit, which made the Prime uneasy- if there was one thing he had learned at all on Earth, it was to never trust government agents in suits.

The other Autobots walked off to sit down somewhere in the base, leaving Emma and Optimus with the Agent and the small group of soldiers. "I understand if you don't trust me," Said the Agent. "It's my understanding that some certain humans have been giving you and your boys some trouble."

"'Trouble'?" Emma scoffed. "Not the word I'd be using."

"Who are you?" Asked Optimus. "And why have you given my Autobots refuge here? It was my understanding that your governments no longer wanted our help."

"Well, looks like we were wrong- again." The Agent cleared his throat. "My name is Special Agent William Fowler. Uncle Sam wanted me to take a look as to why you Autobots are disappearing despite the treaty saying that you would be granted safe asylum here on Earth. I think we've learned too late that MECH is caught up in the middle of this, too. You can catch up with the other 'bots we've rescued- I'm going to need to speak to your little friend there."

Emma looked to Optimus nervously before giving a cautious nod. "I think I know what he wants to talk about," She told him. "I'll be okay."

Optimus set her down on the ground without a word before walking off to sit with the other Autobots- he would have to see First Aid about further repairs after he was done with Blurr.

Emma watched him leave before she looked to Agent Fowler. "Is my brother here?" She asked.

Fowler nodded. "I've got him with the medics right now- and I think you could use a check-up yourself. Come on, we can talk on the way."

Emma cast one last look to Optimus, then followed after Agent Fowler. She had a feeling that it was going to be a very long night.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **Here we are again with Chapter Four! Holy crap, I was scared I'd never get this finished, but with my NaNoWriMo word count dangling over my head, I couldn't afford to let writers' block take hold of me again. Anyways, thanks to **SunnySides** for reviewing and leaving such kind words. :D I'll try to update as often as I can!_

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><p>Emma soon found herself with a piece of gauze stuck to her face with medical tape after her cheek had been cleaned up and disinfected. Her clothes were filthy, and she felt a little embarrassed to be sitting in her pyjamas in the middle of a small military base. By now, she and Jason were sitting in Agent Fowler's 'office' as the man poured Jason a cup of coffee- Emma had been given a bottle of water- before sitting down. "You kids have had one rough night, I bet," He said, trying to be casual.<p>

"Something a little like that, yeah," Jason replied gruffly, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Then I'd better cut to the chase." Fowler pressed a few keys on a laptop. "You two need to know what it is you're dealing with."

"I know about MECH and their attacks," Emma piped up.

"And about how they're hunting Autobots?" Fowler asked. Emma shrugged in reply. "Well, that's why Autobots have been disappearing." He turned the screen towards the two, a video on the screen showing footage of a transformer being torn apart. "MECH's been tracking them somehow, but to what purpose, we're not yet sure."

Emma gulped nervously. "And they're attacking anyone who shields them?"

Agent Fowler nodded gravely. "Looks like you two aren't the first. We found corpses near remains of other Autobots. Human corpses." Emma was scared stiff to hear those words as images of a young woman being shot by MECH agents in front of another Autobot as it was injured and dying played on the screen. "We've taken your friends and their families into protective custody- they're being guarded by the best security Uncle Sam's got."

"So why are you guys lookin' for the Autobots?" Asked Jason. "I thought the government didn't want anything to do with 'em after what happened in Chicago."

"That's what I thought, too." Fowler turned the laptop away and shut the lid. "Some months ago, I get called into my superior's office and he tells me I've gotta round up what's left of NEST and go after the remaining Autobots after this whole mess with MECH started."

"What are MECH even doing?" Asked Emma. "The guys who came after us wouldn't say."

"They claim they're trying to usher in a 'new world order', or whatever crap they're telling themselves nowadays." Fowler waved his hand dismissively. "From what we can tell, it's just textbook megalomania. Their leader calls himself Silas, and we don't know much else about him, or his organisation, other than he's been trying to get his hands on some pretty fancy tech and somehow has access to classified secrets from countries the world over." He looked over to a huge corkboard, where various pictures, newspaper clippings and notes were connected by a web of string. Some of the photographs were of Autobots, some with their faces crossed out. "We've chased 'em all over the globe with the use of the groundbridge Ratchet made, but we're almost always too late."

"That's great and all," Jason cut in. "But why the hell are you telling us?"

"Because you're the first humans to have contact with an Autobot and still be breathing in a very long time." Said Fowler. "You at least deserve to know what's going on before I put the both of you in custody."

"Custody?!" Cried Emma. "Nuh-uh! No way! I wanna stay here with Optimus!"

"The hell you are!" Argued Jason. "He almost got you killed!"

"Would you two keep it down?!" Snapped Fowler. "These walls ain't soundproof. Look, kid, it's not safe for you to be staying here."

Emma looked to Fowler with pleading eyes. "But I can help-!"

"According to your permanent record, the last time you tried to help, you got arrested." Agent Fowler put a hand on a nearby file. "Look, I know you're worried about the big guy, but he's in good hands. You gotta trust me on this- you're dealing with stuff you don't understand. You'll get killed out there."

"For once in your fucking life, Emma, can you just do as you're told?" Jason growled at his sister. "You've done enough already."

Emma went quiet for a moment, trying to weight up her options. She could play her little game and lie to get Agent Fowler to let her stay with the Autobots, but she was already in enough trouble and it wasn't the best idea to be messing around with government agents- or Jason when he was pissed at her enough as it was already. Her shoulders sagged and she hung her head, defeated.

Agent Fowler walked around the desk and set a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You can hang around the base for a few days while Prime gets fixed up," He said hesitantly. "Some of your friends we took into custody told us you worked hard to try and help the big guy."

Emma looked up at him. "Really? You're allowed to do that?"

"No," Sighed Fowler. "But I get that Prime wouldn't be too happy if you just up and left, and I've seen the guy when he gets pissed- it's scary stuff."

Emma grinned. "Thank you so much, Agent Fowler!"

"But you're not going on any rescue missions." Fowler's tone was firm. "I mean it. I'm already in enough trouble by bringing you kids back here, I don't need anyone else breathing down my neck for putting you in danger."

Emma's grin dropped. "Can't you make an exception?"

"Emma, will you just shut up?" Jason snapped at her. "Just listen to the guy, alright? He's already risking his neck letting your stupid ass hang around here."

"Yeah, well whose other stupid ass did he say could stay?" Emma quipped. "Look, Agent Fowler…there's an Autobot I met in Chicago when I was younger called Ratchet. He saved my life, I wanna save his. I owe him."

Fowler sighed. "We'll see what happens. You two can leave now, I gotta make a few calls."

"Gladly." Jason stood up, then took hold of his sister's wrist and dragged her out the door. Once it had shut behind them, he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and scowled at his sister. "I am so close to slapping you right now," He growled. "The fuck did you think you were doing, mouthing off to a government agent? Dude's CIA, he could've shot you!"

"Yeah, like hitting me is gonna solve anything," Emma snapped back at him. "If I recall correctly, you haven't been any bit helpful since this mess started- you're the one who said we should leave Optimus for MECH to take."

"Don't try to pin this on me!" Jason stuck his finger in his sister's face. "You're the one who insisted that we help the guy- for all we know, you kids would have somehow fucked up and ended up giving MECH something to track to our house, so don't you go saying that I've been unhelpful when all of this is _your_ fault!"

Emma scowled, then lashed out and bit her brother's finger hard. Jason reeled back, the hand gripping the redhead's wrist snapping back to cradle the other. "You're such a jerk!" Emma shouted at him, then took off in a sprint back towards where she'd last left Optimus.

Jason seethed quietly as he checked his finger. "Little bitch…" He didn't mean the insult in any sort of cruelty or abuse, but Chicago had changed him. The older of the Craven siblings sighed and stalked off somewhere to clear his head. Why? Why couldn't Emma just _listen_ for once and just do as she was told when people were trying to tell her how to not get herself killed? These Autobots were dangerous, hadn't she learned that already in Chicago?

He remembered that day in almost perfect clarity. It was like the sky was falling, and he remembered racing through the city with the only question echoing in his mind as chaos broke out around him being whether or not his family was okay. Jason dreamed of different ways that day could have ended- he found his parents first, his mother's upper half lying lifeless under a pile of rubble, and his dreams had altered the memory so many times that he hardly remembered just how he'd found Emma after he'd dreamed of finding her being shot by a Decepticon, or lying dead in the road in various horrifying states. They were just kids at the time, and Jason had been forced to grow up in order to protect his little sister, the last remnant of his family that he had to hold onto. Yes, he'd been cruel at times, but he was scared and far too prideful to admit that he was afraid of losing Emma- surely she knew that, right?

…right?

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><p>Optimus had heard the stories from the other Autobots about how they'd been found, rescued, or convinced to join the humans for the sake of their own safety, how they'd found remnants of so many other Autobots who were taken or killed. There was still no word from Ratchet, or any of the other Autobots that had come to Earth, and Hound had told Optimus how Bumblebee had been the first, following the death of Sam Witwicky. First Aid was seeing to him, and the Prime sat in silence as he tried to contain the rage and sorrow swirling within his spark. He could only hope that Blurr would come around soon.<p>

"Looks like you've let a human root around under your hood," First Aid observed as he carefully removed some of the patch-up work that Emma and her friends had done. "They did a good job, considering it's only best to have it as a temporary fix. Awfully kind of them."

From out of the corner of his optic, Optimus could see Emma slowly walking in with a nervous smile on her face despite the damage she'd taken. He looked to her, for a moment, but said nothing as she approached. "I hope we didn't do that bad of a job," She piped up, catching First Aid's attention. "My friends and I worked really hard to try and deal with the worst of the damage."

The medic shook his head. "No, no, you did a fine job," He said quickly before getting back to work. "You're welcome to take a seat while I get to work, there shouldn't be too much to do here. A new vehicle mode scan should fix up the rest of the damage."

Emma shook her head politely. "That's okay, I'm going to head to bed pretty soon." Her smile dropped as she looked to Optimus. "Agent Fowler said that Jay and I can stay here for a few days before we go into protective custody," She explained. "I didn't want to leave without being able to say goodbye."

Optimus nodded slowly. "It would be better if you stayed out of this, Emma," He told her. "While your efforts have been valiant, I can no longer allow you to risk your life when you have already saved mine."

"I know," The young human sighed. "I just wish there was more I could do to help. I don't want to just sit here being useless."

"Well, I could always use an extra pair of servos around here while the others are out on rescue missions," First Aid piped up. "It would be nice to not be alone while waiting for them to return, it gets so lonely around here."

"Good to see you haven't changed, First Aid." Optimus exvented slowly. "I will not endanger you further, Emma Craven. It seems that MECH has very little regard for human life, and even less for Cybertronians. They have already tried to kill you and your brother- I thank you for your kindness, but it would be for the best if you stayed out of this."

"I already got the talk from Agent Fowler," Said Emma. "But…I have a feeling that wouldn't be the end of it- Fowler saving whatever Autobots are left wouldn't be the end of this MECH problem."

The human had a good point. This Agent Fowler hadn't quite made his intentions known to him yet, or what they planned to do about MECH at this point. From what Optimus had learned, MECH had used guerrilla tactics, hiding amongst humans and various armies around the globe. There was a chance that there were a few hiding among them here as well. There was no clear way as to how they could stop these terrorists and no clear indication as to where their base of operations was.

"While that may be true," Optimus reasoned, "We cannot ignore any other surviving Autobots who may need rescuing."

"I certainly hope we find more medic-bots. I would appreciate having more skilled hands than my own here," Mused First Aid as he finished up his repairs. "Well, sir, I've done all I can for now. The most I can recommend is that you scan a new vehicle mode. I just hope we can find one. I just wish that I could do more, but I am most certainly no Ratchet."

Optimus nodded slowly and exvented before standing up and walking off, motioning for Emma to follow. He saw her give a short wave to First Aid before hurrying to keep up. "How is Jason?" He asked.

"Same as always," Sighed Emma. "Still as much of a jerk as he was before. But forget him, it's you we should be worrying about. How are you feeling now?"

Optimus looked down at her. "As you humans say, I have had worse."

The young human shrugged. "If you say so."

Optimus led Emma out towards the other Autobots, noting how they regarded her with caution. Bumblebee, however, seemed to be curious- the scout had always been curious of new humans that he had been introduced to- he even had made quite a few friends among the human soldiers before NEST was officially disbanded.

"Looks like First Aid did a pretty good job," Quipped Crosshairs. "He's alright for a nurse. Little shabby, but not too bad." Then, the wrecker noticed Emma. "…We're not keepin' it, are we?"

"That is hardly of any concern at this given moment in time, Crosshairs." Optimus looked around at the remaining Autobots. "Is this all that is left?"

"Looks like it," Grumbled Hound. "If Blurr don't make it through the night, that is. I mean, how the hell did all 'a this even happen, anyways?"

"The people MECH have hurt are probably asking the same thing," Emma piped up. "I mean, none of us asked for this. No one deserves any of this. Whatever it is MECH wants, they're ready to take out anyone and anything to get to it."

"No one asked you, meatbag," Snapped Crosshairs. "Beat it, before I make ya."

"Crosshairs," Optimus told the wrecker, being a little more firm in his tone. "That's enough." Crosshairs sat down with a grumbled curse in Cybertronian. The wrecker had always been difficult to deal with, breaking ranks and disobeying orders whenever it so suited him. From what the Prime had heard, Hound had to drag him back here at gunpoint just because the mech's own overconfidence had made him oblivious to the real danger ahead of him. "Emma is right. We are not the only ones affected by MECH. They are hunting our kind, but to what end, we do not know. What's more, they are not alone. When you came to our rescue, I saw something that looked like one of us- though I cannot say whether it was Autobot or Decepticon in origin."

"It would not be the first time," Said Drift. "At other rescues, we have seen an unknown figure somewhere in the distance that has slain some of our comrades- we have never been able to track it or see it in time to be prepared."

That gave Optimus some fuel for thought. As far as he knew, any remaining Decepticons had been destroyed in the battle of Chicago some years ago now. "Has Agent Fowler divulged his plans for what happens to us next?"

Bumblebee beeped in negation and shrugged. Emma looked up at Optimus with a shrug of her shoulders as well. "Fowler didn't tell me and Jay anything, either," She explained. "My guess is he doesn't know what to do next, and he's just focusing on rescuing any remaining Autobots that are still on the run or in hiding."

"Typical human government types," Grumbled Hound. "No idea what they're doin'. As usual."

Optimus would have spoken again, but they were interrupted when First Aid rushed over. "Sir! Blurr's awake! He says he needs to speak with you right away!"

That certainly caught the Prime's attention. He picked up Emma and set him on his shoulder, then walked with First Aid to the medbay, where Blurr laid on a makeshift recharge berth, looking worse for wear than the last time Optimus had seen him. From the looks of things, First Aid had done all he could, but he was merely a nurse and could not do much else- Blurr was dying. The blue mech looked up at the Prime, only just hanging on.

"G-good to see you alive, sir…" He stuttered. "W-we were…starting to lose hope."

"At ease, soldier." Optimus placed a servo on Blurr's shoulder. "What is it you needed to say?"

"I…I had to warn you, sir…the humans who attacked me…" Blurr coughed a few times, a spark-wrenching sound that Optimus had heard one too many times before. His bellows had taken severe damage and were starting to give out. It was too late for him to merely scan a new vehicle mode- neither his chassi or his spark would be able to handle the change. "There was someone with them…s-someone I recognised from my days working with Prowl in law enforcement…" He coughed again. "L-lockdown, sir…the others came and saved me…b-before he tried to take my spark." Blurr gave a pained whimper and clutched at his exposed spark chamber. "Primus…it hurts s-s-so much…"

Optimus had to look away. He knew what would come of this now. He could see the other Autobots standing nearby, anxious to know if their comrade was going to make it. "Who was it you saw, Blurr?"

It took Blurr some time, but the mech managed to give them a name. "L-lockdown…he said his name was Lockdown…" Blurr's servo reached out to grab Optimus' shoulder, nearly putting Emma off balance. "Please…sir…I know I'm not g-gonna make it…" His vocaliser reset itself, and there was a hitch in his bellows. "It hurts…so much…"

Optimus had to shut his optics. He knew what Blurr was asking, and he knew that it was an awful thing to ask, but it had to be done. Optimus looked to First Aid, and the medic shook his head, giving the Prime the affirmation that it was the best that anyone could do for Blurr right now. "Emma," Optimus said gravely. "Look away."

"W-what are you doing?" Emma had tears in her eyes. "There has to be something we can do for him…!"

Optimus wished he could believe that, but vorns of experience had told him otherwise. "There is nothing else that can be done. Please, look away now." Emma looked hesitant, afraid, but she did as she was told and turned her head away with a quiet sob. Optimus didn't think he'd have to do this anymore, that he wouldn't have to lose anyone else, but it seemed that was inevitable- for a Prime, death was never far behind.

Reaching into Blurr's spark chamber, Optimus wrapped his digits around the container frame. "Goodbye, old friend." There was a crunch of metal as Optimus' digits snapped the frame as quickly as he could manage, so as not to cause Blurr any more pain. Blurr's bright blue optics flickered once, then fell dim as his spark ceased its pulsing before dissipating entirely. Emma was sobbing into his shoulder, First Aid had already sat down next to the berth with his head in his servos. Not far from them, Optimus could hear the other Autobots murmuring amongst themselves, accompanied by Bumblebee's saddened beeping.

Loss made the Prime's spark ache, and he, too, felt like joining his comrades in their grief, but he could not afford to show that kind of emotional weakness- that could wait until this was over. The sense of loss was quickly replaced with something else, a rage that boiled up from within, different to the rage he'd felt when he'd found out the humans had been hiding secrets from him and the other Autobots, different to when Sentinel Prime had betrayed him.

One thing was certain: Though he had sworn never to harm a human, when he found the one responsible for this…he was going to die.


End file.
